Tomoyuki Matsushita Upholding Japanese Medley Tradition; Joins Exclusive Club
It’s been nearly 19 years since Michael Phelps, as part of a pre-Beijing showcase, wowed at the 2007 edition of the World Championships in Melbourne. The American set four individual world records during the week and walked away with seven gold medals overall, the performance possibly the finest of his Hall of Fame career. During his four world-record efforts, Phelps cut a combined 4.72 seconds off the previous standards, an incredible total.
Racing the 400-meter individual medley on the final day of the competition, Phelps ripped a mark of 4:06.22 to take the event to a new stratosphere. The previous world record was 4:08.26, which Phelps used to claim his initial Olympic title at the 2004 Games in Athens. And in the nearly two decades since the GOAT took the 400 IM under 4:08 and 4:07 for the first time, only eight other athletes have gone sub-4:07 – or better.
One accomplished the feat on Sunday night.
Locking down invitations to the Pan Pacific Championships and Asian Games, Tomoyuki Matsushita won the 400 IM at the Japan Swim with a time of 4:06.93. That outing marked Matsushita’s first journey inside 4:07 and bettered his previous best of 4:07.21, set last year. The 20-year-old needed to be sharp in Tokyo, as Yumeki Kojima followed in a world junior record of 4:08.84.
Matsushita has been a consistent presence on the global scene for several years, most notably through his silver medals in the 400 medley at the 2024 Olympic Games and 2025 World Championships. Both times, Matsushita placed well behind Frenchman Leon Marchand, the world-record holder. And while the Japanese standout remains far off the pace of Marchand (4:02.50), he took a step forward by cracking 4:07.
While Marchand tops the 400 IM chart at 4:03.50, Phelps sits No. 2 in the all-time rankings, behind the 4:03.84 he delivered at the 2008 Olympics. Next is Ryan Lochte, who went 4:05.18 at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, and fellow American Chase Kalisz is fourth at 4:05.90, from the 2017 World Championships.
Japan’s Kosuke Hagino (4:06.05) and Daiya Seto (4:06.09) rank fifth and sixth in the 400 medley, and their times figure to be on the radar of Matsushita on the path to the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The other swimmers to go sub-4:07 are Hungarian Laszlo Cseh (4:06.16) and the United States’ Carson Foster (4:06.56).
